Netflix Little House on the Prairie Episode 1 recap: Independence

[L-R]: Skywalker Hughes as MARY, Crosby Fitzgerald as CAROLINE, Luke Bracey as CHARLES, Alice Halsey as LAURA

Pa, Ma, Mary, and Laura (no Carrie) set out from their little house in the big woods in Wisconsin to find a new life and new land. There's also some vague statement that it was too crowded in Wisconsin to remain. They bring Jack, who appears to be an Australian cattle dog in this series instead of the shaggy dog he was in the original show. This is a recap for episode 1. For all of my Little House recaps, visit the landing page. 

When they come to a flowing stream, Laura asks Pa if Jack can ride in the wagon as a safety measure. He tells her, "just this once." For anyone who knows about the original show and remember Jack being forced to swim across, you may be breathing a sigh of relief. That relief is short-loved, though, since the horses get stuck on some rocks under the water. Pa jumps off and tries to get unstuck, which causes the brave Jack to jump in after him. The entire wagon almost tips over. Jack is quickly overtaken by the rushing waters and pushed further downstream. Will he be okay? 

The situation looks dire, but Pa is able to get the horse unstuck. Once they make it across, Ma feels ill and vomits on the opposite side. Their debacle is witnessed by Dr. George Tann, a Black doctor in nearby Independence. He chastises Charles a little for coming without a group but compliments his skill with horses. Charles admits there was no one else to come. Dr. Tann gives them a tip that he can find Eli James in Independence to talk about land distribution. Pa apologizes to Caroline that he didn't check more thoroughly before assuming it as safe to cross. 

Alice Halsey as LAURA

The next day, they travel into Independence so that Charles can find the land distribution office. He is told to look for Eli James. Laura and the family come across the Mitchells, an Osage family that lives nearby. Laura is eager to befriend the family, especially their young daughter, Good Eagle. The family is polite but distant. I predict the girls will become friends.  

Besides the loss of a highly trained dog, other dangers occur like wolves and exposure. Ma ends up getting injured when she tries to lift a heavy log. Charles goes to find the doctor again. Once again, the doctor reminds Charles that trying to settle as a standalone family is madness. If he needs to, he should pay someone to help him. Charles has no money because he is waiting for the sale of his land to go through. We also discover that Ma is pregnant. They don't tell the kids just yet.  

Charles goes to talk to Mr. John Edwards on advice of Dr. Tann, thinking they might help each other to build a house. Mr. Edwards gets set off when Charles asks him about his family, and a skirmish occurs. Thanks to an intervention by Mr. Mitchell and quick instincts of Charles. Later, Mr. Edwards apologizes and agrees to help Charles build a house as penitence.  

Jocko Sims as DR. GEORGE TANN

Even in this first episode, it's established quickly that this show will be something very different from the original Little House series. The family has conflicts. Ma and Pa often squabble about whether or not they should have come. Ma feels less confident, but she promised to follow Charles anywhere. He has a natural optimism that all will work out, leaving Caroline to be the one to worry. The Carolina of the first series was always smiling, positive, and didn't challenge Charles. This Caroline has her own thoughts and feelings and often feels weighed down by her worries. 

The sisters also fight more. Mary is established as having more friends and a life at home she misses. She's better at blending in with society and follow the social norms expected of girls at that time. Laura is more of a loner. Her best friend is Jack. She's a storyteller with an active imagination and a tendency to wander away from home. 

Dr. Tann was a character in one episode of the original Little House series called "The Wisdom of Solomon." In that episode, he's more of a plot device than a character with an arc. In that episode, he is established to only be able to serve as a doctor for the Indigenous population. In our new show, Dr. Tann is shown helping citizens of all races.  

[L-R]: Wren Gotta as GOOD EAGLE, Meegwun Fairbrother as MR. MITCHELL

The character of Mr. Edwards we meet in this show is also notably different from the Mr. Edwards in the original series. In the original show, Mr. Edwards was often comic relief and was one of the character foils to Charles (along with Nels). There is an episode of the show where he has suicidal thoughts, but in this new series, we know right away that he has mental health issues and often spends time alone. Bonus thought: he likes cats. Him being written as a man who has lost his family opens the narrative door for him to have a special relationship with the Ingalls family, and Laura, in particular. 

By the end of the episode, Charles Ingalls discovers that the land he was sold as free is Osage land. Not only is it Osage land, but they never agreed to sell. The government advertised it as free to encourage people to settle. If they get enough people to settle, even if the Osage complain or retaliate, they reckon the federal government will intervene to protect the settlers. It's a dangerous gamble, but here Charles finds out really quickly, so there's no excuse that he didn't know. 

In this Little House, life is challenging. It's not as rosy or nostalgic. Instead, living on the prairie is shown as grueling and a path that could easily lead to death. In the original show, they showed us a world and a family we wanted to be a part of. Here, we may covet their lives less and see a more realistic portrait of a family trying to survive on the prairie. 

[L-R]: Luke Bracey as CHARLES, Alice Halsey as LAURA, Skywalker Hughes as MARY, Crosby Fitzgerald as CAROLINE

I am very curious how audiences will respond to this show. Focusing on the hardship angle could be a strike against this new show. We had a little of that in the original show, especially with the pilot episode. But much of the story was about family connections and relationships. While the time period may have been set in the past, the characters and their challenges still felt incredibly relatable. While somewhat idealistic, the show was watchable because the family showed us a model of how we want families to be. 

In the original little house there were hardships but it was a way to show how close the family was. Pa always did what was right and put his family first. Ma was there to support you and put her arms around you. The kids squabble, but they support each other. And that part about the sister relationship felt very true in my life. My sister always came to my defense. 

In their attempts to make the show more realistic, they may end up losing an essential piece of making a show we can get lost in. Instead here, the plot often felt like beats they had to hit, rather than a natural chain of events that occur because of who the characters are. The characters here feel more distant and not people I fully understand.